The Threefold Body in Eschatological Perspective
With and Beyond Henri de Lubac on the Church
In: EcclesiologySearch for other papers by Eugene R. Schlesinger in
Current site
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In this article, I draw from Henri de Lubac’s ecclesiology to delineate the relations between the three forms of Christ’s body (historical, ecclesial, and sacramental). Using the heuristic frameworks of scholastic sacramental theology and of spiritual exegesis, I demonstrate that language concerning the ecclesial body is significantly more complex than with the historical or sacramental bodies. The ecclesial body is at once entirely provisional—the sacrament of Christ—and the fulfillment itself—the totus Christus. This leads me to pose the question: what aspects of the Church endure through eternity and which pass away? I argue that it is the faithful who abide, while the visible institutional structures of the Church will be no more. I clarify how the institutional aspects of the Church relate to the congregatio fidelium and suggest that academic ecclesiology concern itself with the lives of the faithful rather than simply with faith and order.
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3
Susan K. Wood, Spiritual Exegesis and the Church in the Theology of Henri de Lubac (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), p. 1; Joseph Simeon Flipper, ‘Sacrament and Eschatological Fulfillment in Henri de Lubac’s Theology of History’ (Ph.D. diss, Marquette University, 2012); Matthew Thomas Gerlach, ‘Lex Orandi, Lex Legendi: A Correlation of the Roman Canon and the Fourfold Sense of Scripture’ (Ph.D. diss, Marquette University, 2011), pp. 290–296; Hans Boersma, Nouvelle Théologie and Sacramental Ontology: A Return to Mystery (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 157.
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7
Lubac, Scripture in Tradition, pp. 182–194, 200; Henri de Lubac, Révélation divine; Affrontements mystiques; Athéisme et sens de l’homme, Oevres Complètes IV (Paris: Cerf, 2006), pp. 71–77; Henri de Lubac, The Church: Paradox and Mystery, trans. James R. Dunne (Shannon, Ireland: Ecclesia, 1969), pp. 14–15.
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8
Flipper, ‘Sacrament and Fulfillment’, pp. 129–134 (133). See also Lubac, Scripture in Tradition, pp. 7, 31, 34–35, 85, 90, 105.
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9
Lubac, Scripture in Tradition, p. 31. See also Wood, Spiritual Exegesis, p. 33.
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13
Gerlach, ‘Lex Orandi’, pp. 280–283; Flipper, ‘Sacrament and Fulfillment’, p. 137.
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18
Ibid., pp. 203–204.
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19
Lubac, Corpus Mysticum, p. 24; Lubac, Scripture in Tradition, pp. 203–204.
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21
Lubac, Scripture in Tradition, pp. 204–205; Lubac, Corpus Mysticum, p. 68; Lubac, Catholicism, pp. 25–45.
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25
Ibid., pp. 64–65, 188–189, 198.
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26
Ibid., pp. 193, 220; Lubac, Splendor, pp. 156–157. See also Wood, Spiritual Exegesis, pp. 55–59.
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28
Ibid., p. 71.
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29
Ibid., p. 66.
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30
Ibid., pp. 68–69, 199.
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32
Lubac, Corpus Mysticum, pp. 88, 13; Lubac, Splendor, pp. 143, 151–155.
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35
Lubac, Corpus Mysticum, p. 24; Lubac, Splendor, p. 49; Lubac, Paradox and Mystery, p. 24.
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39
Ibid., p. 202.
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40
Ibid., pp. 204–207. See Flipper, ‘Sacrament and Fulfillment’, pp. 184–187.
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42
Ibid., pp. 133–144.
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45
ibid., p. 202.
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48
Hubert Schnackers, Kirche als Sakrament und Mutter: Zur Ekklesiologie von Henri de Lubac (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1979), pp. 160–169; Flipper, ‘Sacrament and Fulfillment’, pp. 225–231.
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50
Lubac, Paradox and Mystery, p. 27. As an Anglican, I affirm the general contours of de Lubac’s Catholic ecclesiology, while demurring at others. I do not prosecute my disagreements in this article.
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51
Lubac, Splendor, pp. 84–88 (84, 88), citing Louis Bouyer, Dieu Vivant, 2:140.
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52
Ibid., p. 79. See also Boersma, Sacramental Ontology, pp. 259–260.
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53
Lubac, Splendor, pp. 264–265. See also Lubac, Motherhood/Particular, pp. 75–84; Lubac, Paradox and Mystery, p. 4.
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62
Wood, Spiritual Exegesis, p. 39. So also Boersma, Sacramental Ontology, p. 151.
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70
Ibid., pp. 204–205.
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72
Ibid., p. 278.
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76
Ibid., pp. 68, 74–76.
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78
Lubac, Paradox and Mystery, p. 7 (quoting Teilhard de Chardin).
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79
Lubac, Catholicism, pp. 37–39; Lubac, Corpus Mysticum, pp. 62, 70.
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81
Lubac, Scripture in Tradition, pp. 202–203, 211–213; Lubac, Corpus Mysticum, pp. 62, 67–69; Lubac, Catholicism, pp. 37–39, 367–368; Lubac, Splendor, pp. 77–78, 155–157.
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The Threefold Body in Eschatological Perspective
With and Beyond Henri de Lubac on the Church
In: EcclesiologySearch for other papers by Eugene R. Schlesinger in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
In this article, I draw from Henri de Lubac’s ecclesiology to delineate the relations between the three forms of Christ’s body (historical, ecclesial, and sacramental). Using the heuristic frameworks of scholastic sacramental theology and of spiritual exegesis, I demonstrate that language concerning the ecclesial body is significantly more complex than with the historical or sacramental bodies. The ecclesial body is at once entirely provisional—the sacrament of Christ—and the fulfillment itself—the totus Christus. This leads me to pose the question: what aspects of the Church endure through eternity and which pass away? I argue that it is the faithful who abide, while the visible institutional structures of the Church will be no more. I clarify how the institutional aspects of the Church relate to the congregatio fidelium and suggest that academic ecclesiology concern itself with the lives of the faithful rather than simply with faith and order.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 407 | 108 | 35 |
| Full Text Views | 203 | 3 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 42 | 4 | 0 |
